The Mark of the Black Widow
by Electronic-Star
Summary: Natasha's mission is to recruit Banner for the Avengers. But she didn't plan to find her soulmate in this mission...


Natasha knew it's not gonna be easy. She was prepared for everything that might happen. But things didn't go as planned...Nat had no idea what Fury was thinking. Recruiting Hulk for the Avengers Initiative...And she of all people got the job to seek him out.

Things were okay at first. She managed to find Banner, got close enough to talk with him. During that talk, she occasionally scratched the spot where her soulmark was, right above her left breast. It was tingling weirdly and she had absolutely no idea what this meant. And the weird thing is that she noticed Bruce doing the same on the exact same spot...

There was no time to think about this, though. Natasha had a job to do. She had to try to convince him to join the team, making sure he stayed calm and had to read everything he did and said. But then something happened. They were attacked, which made Banner hulk out and now she's trying to get away from a big green monster that destroyed the whole city.

For some reason she was his main target. Maybe he thought she was one of the guys that attacked him. But the chase ended when he threw a freaking building at her! She managed to get away alive, but just as she was about to hide a big green hand grabbed her and held her up, squeezing her tightly.

"I didn't attack you." She gasped out and unavailingly tried to free herself from his grip. The Hulk just growled at her and then she finally realized why her soulmark was reacting before. He had the exact same symbol on his chest as her. And while he squeezed her like this, she felt it stinging painfully. And he obviously felt it, too, since he winced and scratched the mark with his free hand.

The world was really cruel to her giving her him as her soulmate. It made her wish the things she learned in the Red Room —that people like them didn't have a soulmate— was true...Then she saw him wince again, just as she felt the pain too and it made him angrier than before. He was obviously thinking she did something to him and smashed her against a wall, still squeezing her against it.

The impact knocked the rest of the air out of her lungs and she could barely breathe with him squeezing her like that. Nat didn't dare using her stingers against him, since it wouldn't work anyway and would surely make him even angrier. If that's possible. Her whole body hurt like hell, but still the stinging pain of the soulmark was worse than anything she's ever felt before. "Bruce..." Just as she felt like fainting from oxygen loss, he let her go and she fell to the ground.

Nat lay on the ground, coughing and trying to catch her breath. The Hulk must've broken a few rips on her, it was painful to breath. When she could finally look up, she saw the green guy clutching at his chest, being in pain as well. And once he saw her holding the exact same spot he reached his big green hand out to her again.

He grabbed her and pulled her up to her feet. His eyes bore into her, examining her curiously. Then he began to tug at her suit, ripping it apart. "H-hey! What the hell?!" He ripped the leather apart like paper, till her mark was visible to his eyes. Well, actually her whole upper body was bare at this point, he even decided to shred her bra, too...

Hulk stared at her mark for quite a long time and it made her wonder if he even knew what this meant and what he's even thinking. But killing her was not an option anymore, since he'll be hurt just as bad — to be honest she didn't know the marks could react like that.

The redhead had no other option than to stare back at him, while he moved a finger to brush over the mark, probably testing if it's real. Nat frowned when he looked up to her eyes then. They changed. Well, they were still green, but they definitely looked more...human. Actually, everything about him looked more human. Except the size and the green skin of course. "Soul...mate..." Grunted the big guy, staring at her intently.

"Yes." Nat said with a raspy voice. She didn't like it but it was a fact she couldn't deny. "We're soulmates. I just found out, too." Then he moved closer. "Pretty girl hurt?" Did he really call her 'pretty girl'? Was it because of the soulmate thing or did he really think that? Not that it mattered of course, but it did make her wonder...

"Pretty much. You're really strong, you know." Then his expression changed into...was that guilt? "Hulk sorry." Did he really just apologize? Natasha just learned more about the Hulk in these few minutes than SHIELD did in years. Maybe being his soulmate did have a good side...Probably.

"Hulk thought...pretty girl is bad." Well, that's nothing she couldn't deny either. "Depends on who you're asking. I told Banner before: your enemies are mine, too. We want you to join our team." Was she really trying to talk sense into the _Hulk_? This was a pretty weird day..."We?"

"SHIELD." Hulk's glare darkened again, obviously having had bad experience with them. "Don't worry, we don't wanna lock you in or something." She repeated what she already told Banner. "We need your help. Or, we will. We gather a team of remarkable people to fight the battles 'normal people' can't win. Do you understand?"

The big guy huffed, his glare softened again. Then he just nodded at her question. "What if...Hulk says no?"

"Well, that would be sad, but it's your decision." Or maybe she could persuade Banner when he turned back. The green guy came closer again, but this time her fear completely vanished. If it's because of their little talk or the fact that they're soulmates, she didn't know. But she stood still and just looked back into his eyes. "What if..." He began, staring at her intently. "Pretty girl stays with Hulk?"

Well, Hulk was full of surprises there. The redhead sighed and eventually crossed her arms, covering her bare chest. "That's not gonna work. I have a job to do." The green guy looked conflicted then, obviously thinking of a solution. "Is pretty girl in team?"

Natasha nodded. "Yes." She tilted her head questioningly, while Hulk took some time to think about it. "Then Hulk go with pretty girl."

"Are you sure?" The big guy nodded and grunted in agreement. "What if Banner says no?" She asked then, which made him huff. "Puny Banner agrees." Natasha had no idea if he just said this, or if they could actually communicate with each other somehow. "I'd like to hear it from him." Grumbling annoyed the green guy shut his eyes tightly, concentrated.

As she tried to figure out what he's doing, she already saw him shrinking and the green vanishing. That's weird, his file said that he's unable to turn back by himself. As far as she knew he'd normally get all his rage out of his system and collapse somewhere.

So now a few seconds later Bruce was back, leaning his head on her bare shoulder. Natasha wasn't moving, until Bruce backed away from her in shock. He looked around disoriented and blushed a deep red when he saw her naked upper body. "W-what happened?" He asked, panicked and held up his now too big and shredded pants.

"Someone attacked us. You turned green and took care of everyone. And then you wanted to kill me." She said, as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Which it was for her. Many people tried and failed to kill her. "I'm sorry. For everything." He mumbled, as he awkwardly turned away from her.

"It's okay. I'm still alive as you can see."

"Yeah...What made the Other Guy stop?" As expected, he couldn't remember what Hulk did. "Look at me." Bruce turned to her hesitantly, obviously trying not to look at her chest, even if she covered it with her arms. But she saw his eyes moving down, when she let her arms fall back to her sides. She wasn't ashamed of her body at all and didn't quite care if anyone saw her naked. Bruce's eyes just lingered a second on her chest, before looking away again and Nat couldn't help but like his reaction. The way he's blushing was kinda...cute.

"Look." She urged and waited for Bruce to look at her. And when he did, she pointed at her soulmark. "That's why." The scientist frowned at the mark on her chest, forgetting her nakedness for a second. Then he looked at his own mark and realized they're identical. "What...?" Just like Hulk, he came closer and touched the tattoo-looking mark. It was in the shape of an hourglass, the same symbol a real black widow had. It was actually a perfect fit for her —maybe this is one of the reasons the Red Room chose her? A scar was gracing it —something the Red Room did to all the girls— but it was still perfectly visible.

Natasha let him touch it, his thumb feeling the texture of her skin and to her surprise she felt a little prickle at the spot he touched. Then his thumb went over her scar and when he looked into her eyes again, she felt a weird shiver going down her spine. That was nothing she's ever felt before, but she couldn't say it was unpleasant...Then he realized what he did and took a quick step away from her, avoiding her eyes again. "Sorry."

"You know what this means?" It wasn't a question, but a statement. Bruce nodded. "Hulk knew it, too." She continued and saw him frowning. "He said he'd be a part of the team and come with me if I'm in the team, too. And he said you'd agree." Bruces frown deepened and his eyes found hers again. "Wait. He **told** you this?" At first Nat thought Bruce was surprised by the content of Hulks words, but then realized that Hulk speaking wasn't really a common thing. The redhead nodded. "And then he willingly retreated to let you out again."

It was obvious that Bruce didn't believe what he just heard. It was something that never happened before after all...She gave him some time to comprehend what she told him. "...He said he's coming with you?"

"Yes." She replied and waited for him so say anything, giving him as much time as he needed. "And the things you told me..."

"It's true." Nat interrupted, already knowing what he wanted to ask. Of course he wouldn't believe her, soulmate or not. "Fury just wants to recruit you for the team. If it makes you feel better, Tony Stark, Captain America and a Norse God of Thunder are on board, too." Bruce huffed amused. "Then why do you need me?"

Natasha shrugged. "Well, you're very smart. And your big green friend is strong. Good combo if you ask me."

"Oh, you have no idea..." He mumbled more to himself. "Why don't you show me then?" She asked teasingly, having a little smirk on her face. "But for now we should leave. Pretty sure we'll get company very soon. And we're both not properly dressed." Bruce just nodded and lead the way, his eyes still avoiding her. They went through some secluded areas, before arriving where they first met. Her jet was nearby and there should be some clothes for him somewhere around the destroyed little house. "I'll give you some time to think about my offer." Natasha didn't even give him a chance to say anything, before she left to get some clothes from her jet.

If he's gone when she came back —which she was kinda sure of— she knew his answer. And Fury wouldn't like it. But they'd have to talk about this whole soulmate thing anyway. Nat took her time changing into new clothes. If Bruce wanted to leave, then it's okay for her and he'd have a good start. Though, when she left the jet she saw him waiting for her —his new clothes were all dirty from the attack—, his back facing her.

"I thought you left." She said honestly, while he turned to her after hearing her voice. "I was planning to." He replied just as honest. "But I decided to believe you." At first Natasha wanted to joke around that this was a terrible mistake on his part, but till now she did tell him the truth about their plans. All she came here to do was recruit Banner and that's what she did.

"I'm flattered. But I wanna know if it's because you'll willingly help us and not just because of this whole soulmate thing." Bruce just stared at her for a moment, probably thinking if he should stick to the truth? "I can't deny this 'soulmate thing' doesn't have anything to do with my decision." He said truthfully.

Also they didn't know what would happen if they went their own ways. Not every mark reacted the same way. Natasha hear stories about people feeling the pain of their soulmate, or feeling their feelings, getting hurt whenever they get hurt or even feeling sick when the other's too far away. Now they knew it hurts them both when one of them is gonna die, so who knew what else these marks could do to them?

"Well then, welcome to the team." Was all Natasha said, before leading him into the jet. She just got a quiet 'thanks' from him when he sat down and waited for her to fly them away.


End file.
